When Was Melanie Martinez On 'The Voice'? Allegations Against The Singer Have Put Her Back In The Spotlight

Singer Melanie Martinez may be known by reality TV fans as part of a singing competition show, but she has recently been in the news because of the sexual assault allegations against her from her former friend, Timothy Heller. (Martinez has since claimed that Heller "never said no to what we chose to do together.") It was when Martinez was on The Voicethat she got her first taste of the spotlight, but it's been years since she was on the show.

I understand how hard it could be to see my side of the story, considering no one with a heart would want to invalidate anyone speaking up about this topic. I want to thank my fans who took the time to research the timeline, analyze past Instagram photos, and question the story being told, which reveal her false statements. I trusted so many people in my life who took advantage of that trust for their own personal gain. Please know that my intentions with everything that I do in my life are always pure and I would never be intimate with someone without their absolute consent.

EARLIER: Martinez auditioned for the popular show's third season in late 2012 when she sang a rendition of Britney Spears' "Toxic". Judges Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, and Cee Lo Green turned around for her following the blind audition portion of the show, according to Newsday. Martinez was allowed to choose which of the three singers she wanted as her mentor and went with Levine. While she didn't win the competition, she made it to the top six. During her time on The Voice, she performed covers of songs like "Hit The Road Jack" and "Seven Nation Army".

Of course, one might have seen Martinez's name in the news recently because of the sexual assault allegations against her. Heller, a former friend of Martinez's, claimed on Twitter that Martinez allegedly touched her, performed oral sex on her, and penetrated her with a sex toy without her consent. Heller claimed in a tweet, "Just so there is no confusion, I was molested by my friend." She also claimed that she said that she "said no, repeatedly" during the alleged assault.

Martinez, in turn, took to Twitter to release a statement about Heller's accusations. The 22-year-old claimed that Heller "never said no to what we chose to do together":

Prior to these allegations and after her stint on The Voice, Martinez experienced some success in the music industry. The singer released her first single, "Dollhouse", in February 2014 following her time on the competition series and Us Weekly reported that she might be the show's first breakout star. Her single was accompanied by a haunting music video that set the tone for Martinez's subsequent work.

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"Dollhouse", which was the lead single on her EP of the same name, reached #4 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart for up and coming musical acts. The song's success paved the way for Martinez's debut album, Cry Baby, which was released in August 2015. According to Billboard, the album was 153rd on the Billboard 200 Chart following 104 straight weeks on the same chart. Cry Baby didn't produce any singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, as the same article states, however, the album did produce a number of singles that were popular amongst Martinez's fans including the titular "Cry Baby", "Cake", and "Mrs. Potato Head".

Martinez has also engaged in other ventures that relate back to her music. According to Pop Buzz, she's released two lipsticks in collaboration with makeup brand Lime Crime. When her Cry Baby album first came out in 2015, Martinez collaborated with the makeup brand to create an electric blue lipstick named "Cry Baby". She collaborated with the brand once again in early 2016 to release another lipstick called "Teddy Bear" which is a purple/brown shade. She also released a fragrance in 2015 to coincide with the release of her album. According to Billboard, the fragrance was the first ever to be released directly from a record label. In this case, it was released through the same label Martinez is signed with, Atlantic Records.

Currently, Martinez has yet to follow up on her statement in reference to Heller's sexual assault allegations.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit online.rainn.org.